May 16 -- Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential candidate, has stated to the Associated Press that his income tax returns would likely not be released before the November election due to an IRS audit of his finances. Bloomberg View c
Bloomberg

Editorial: Donald Trump should do what every presidential candidate has done since 1976.

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump at a GOP presidential debate at the University of Miami in March 2016.(Photo11: Craig Rubadoux/ USA TODAY FLORID)

If Donald Trump has nothing to hide, he should release his tax returns.

Even some of his supporters have joined a call for Trump to do what candidates for president from both parties have routinely done since 1976.

Trump is applying for the most important job in the country and the American people deserve a chance to fully vet his credentials.

“Trust me” is simply not good enough.

A more appropriate – and Republican – response would be Ronald Reagan’s admonition to “trust, but verify.”

That Reaganism – used in reference to the Soviets – is a good segue into an important reason Trump needs to let Americans have a look at his finances.

What stake does Trump have in Russia?

Trump’s penchant for praising Russian President Vladimir Putin and Trump’s calls for better relations with the regime raised unanswered questions about what kind of Russian investments, debts or other financial entanglements Trump may have.

Several of his advisers have business ties to Russia or Russian politicians.

Let Americans verify for themselves what Trump’s tax returns reveal about his dealings with Russia.

Trump says he can’t release the returns because he being audited by the Internal Revenue Service, but there is no law preventing the release. What’s more, there is no ongoing audit for his 2008 or earlier tax returns, yet Trump has not released those.

Even the first two pages would be a start

But as Fred Goldberg, who served as IRS chief counsel under President Reagan, noted in a guest commentary on CNBC's website last month, just the first two pages of Trump's Form 1040, along with his Schedule A, would "tell us how much he makes, how much he pays in taxes, and how much he contributes to charity."

The release of which, according to Goldberg, would have no impact on any pending or future IRS audit of Trump.